Lithuania is again inviting businesses to develop technology capable of detecting, tracking and neutralising weather balloons used to smuggle cigarettes from Belarus, increasing funding for the initiative to 3 million euros.
The Economy and Innovation Ministry said Thursday it had increased the budget for the project by 2 million euros from the 1 million euros originally planned. At the ministry’s initiative, the State Border Guard Service and the Innovation Agency have launched a pre-commercial procurement process for the project.
“We have secured 3 million euros in funding and, recognising the importance of the project, increased its budget from the initially planned 1 million euros. We believe this cooperation between the state and innovative businesses will help develop an advanced solution that will not only strengthen Lithuania’s airspace protection but also create new opportunities for our defence and security technology ecosystem,” Economy Minister Edvinas Grikšas said in a statement.
Deputy State Border Guard Service Commander Antanas Montvydas said attempts to smuggle cigarettes by balloon from Belarus had declined significantly after authorities introduced more effective countermeasures but stressed that further investment in advanced technologies remained necessary.
Under the procurement process, selected participants will compete in two development stages. In the first stage, the three highest-ranked participants will each receive 233,000 euros to develop and demonstrate a prototype in real-world conditions. In the second stage, the winner will receive 2.3 million euros to produce a pilot batch and validate the final solution.
The competition is open to companies that have carried out defence or security-related research and development over the past three years or have developed and commercialised defence or security technologies, systems, components or software. The proposed solution must have military, public security or dual-use applications.
The ministry has said the technology should also be capable of protecting airspace against drones. Officials expect a prototype to be developed within six months, followed by a pilot batch within another two months.
Last year, the ministry launched a 1 million euro call for proposals to develop technologies to counter contraband balloons. Three Lithuanian companies – IT Logika, Teltonika and Dangaus Šviesos – each received 100,000 euros to develop prototypes, which were tested for the first time at the Pabradė training area in February.
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